How to optimize Facebook Events
In this post I’ll explain how to optimize your Facebook events to get the most attendance and to have your event go viral. This technique will take some time to implement, but it will pay off in the end. The below is example is from Metro Chicago Hillel and their event for a Chicago Cubs game.
I get invited to numerous Facebook events, and I ignore almost all of them. I’ve written a post about how to use the Facebook “Invite All” trick to invite all your friends, but I don’t advocate using that. I always recommend using social media as the second point of contact.
Instead of inviting all of your friends, target your invites to those who you think would be interested in coming. Only invite them to the Facebook event if they say yes they’ll attend. Once they say yes, invite them to the event and ask them if they’ll post something like this.
“I’m going to the Metro Chicago Hillel Cubs Game on April 30th! Won’t you join me?”
This technique will do a couple of things for you; It will prevent a ton of nos, but it will also help your event go viral. In order for Metro Chicago Hillel to get special pricing, they need to purchase 5o tickets. As you can see, they don’t have 50 yet, but it is really easy to click yes on Facebook and not show up the day of. If this organization buys all 50 tickets in advance, and only 30 people show up, they’ll be stuck with those tickets.
Another challenge is keeping all those accountable to purchase a ticket. The event coordinator would have to make sure all those attending paid their $5. I wrote about using social media for accurate event RSVPS that solves this problem. Eventbrite is an amazing website, and it makes collecting money a breeze.
Requiring your attendees to RSVP on Eventbrite creates a higher barrier of entry. It requires more effort to sign up, but you can also collect email addresses. I always recommend using Eventbrite to send follow up emails after the event is over thanking them for coming, but also to tell them about the next event.
It’s important to include “MUST RSVP ON EVENTBRITE” in the title of the Facebook event. I would also suggest adding the registration link in the description of the event.
Did you notice that Facebook recently added cover photos to events? Check out my post to find out the dimensions of the new Facebook cover photo and how to resize it via Microsoft Paint.
See Also:
Should I pay to promote Facebook events
Does Facebook punish you for being lazy?
10 things you didn’t know about Facebook